In reflecting on the Parable of the Lost (or “Prodigal”) Son (Lk 15:11-32) proclaimed at Mass last Sunday, I became aware of something that had not occurred to me before. The parable is third in a grouping of three parables that Jesus addresses to the complaining Pharisees and scribes who criticize him for welcoming and eating with sinners (15:1-3). The overarching theme of Luke 15 is rejoicing, particularly rejoicing over the finding of lost souls (aka, sinners) who repent and turn back to God. The parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son are a package deal. None of this is new. However, the parable of the lost son is far more developed than its predecessors. In this parable Jesus is doing something very different. Jesus is drawing a clear line in the sand. On one side of the line are falsely recognized things of value, such as property, food, wealth, status, pleasure, etc. On Jesus’s side of the line are relationships, all sorts of relationships—father, sons, brothers, servants, bosses, workers, friends. In fact, no one has a name, but each characterized is identified by a word indicating some kind of relationship to another person. It was on this surprising observation that I continue to ponder.
In the parable, both sons are really “lost souls” because both of them, in their own way, are focused on worldly “stuff.” The younger son wants his inheritance early. He travels to a far away place and wastes it all on pleasurable living until there is nothing left. Even as he is feeding swine, he desires the food he is giving to the animals. He is truly “lost” in that he is not in relationship with anyone in that foreign place. The older son is lost in his bitterness. He is resentful of the wasteful banquet being thrown for the other son, who clearly did not deserve it. Although he is the owner of all that the father has, he has nothing to celebrate, even on a small scale, with his own friends. Both sons are bankrupt, each in his own way. The sinners, the scribes, and the Pharisees, Jesus seems to indicate, are all in similar “bankrupt” situations because their attention in life are not on what truly matters—relationships.
The father in the parable is the only one who is on the right track. He never loses hope in either of his sons in their waywardness and misunderstanding. Both are always, and always will be, in relationship with him, whether they realize or accept it or not. The stinger in the parable is the way Jesus extends the opportunity for the brothers to be in relationship with each other. The father insists that the older son see the other son as his own brother. The family is whole only when everyone is in the banquet of rejoicing together. The joy of God and heaven is when right relationships grounded in love, compassion and mercy are restored.
Perhaps in these final weeks of Lent, we can reflect on that line in the sand that Jesus draws. In all of our relationships—with God, self, and others—how are we welcoming the “lost” home with love and rejoicing? What falsely recognized things of value are getting in the way of being in right relationship with God, self, and others? What keeps us from joining the celebration of God’s loving embrace of lost souls?
By Sister Therese Haydel, OSB